Page Nine

Monday, July 27, 2015

Who has the most power in the country over political issues? Everyone focuses on the president and Congress when they talk about reforming the system and taking control back from the left, but they overlook the real powerbroker. Federal courts have been deciding the most contentious issues for years now, taking the final say away from both the president and Congress.

The final straw for many conservatives came recently with the Supreme Court’s decisions on Obamacare and same-sex marriage. In response to this massive judicial power grab, the Empower the States project was launched, which aims to have Congress use its power under Article III, section 2 of the Constitution to remove jurisdiction from the federal courts over these kinds of issues. Instead, serious, controversial political decisions would be left up to the states and people where they belong.

The effort has begun gaining momentum in Arizona, where conservatives remain frustrated over a federal district court judge gutting most of SB1070, the state’s tough anti-illegal immigration initiative that passed in 2010.Andrew Thomas, a former Maricopa County Attorney who was instrumental in getting SB1070 passed (who I worked for several years ago), isheadingup the project with the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research.

Over 100 conservative grassroots leaders in Arizona have already endorsed the project, including two past Arizona Republican Party chairmen, four past Maricopa County Republican Party chairmen, the state coordinator of Arizona’s Tea Parties, and numerous elected GOP leaders at the state, county, district and precinct levels.